The move up category in Calgary, which has traditionally lagged behind the more-active $300.000 to $399,999 starter homes sector, closed the gap last month, representing nearly 23% of all sales in Calgary last month, according to Calgary Real Estate Board’s recent monthly forecast.

Midway through the 2015, move-up sales accounted for 25% of Calgary city-wide activity, 2% up from the same period in 2014 and now even with the $300,000 – $399,999 category.

“Given the current inventory levels, buyers who are already in the market, especially those who have but up some good equity from buying in another cycle, may view this to be an affordable window of opportunity for them to move up into that next home and price point,” said Calgary Real Estate Board president Corinne Lyall.

Overall, real estate sales in Calgary decreased by 18% in year-over-year in June to 2,183 units.

“Consumers who were waiting for wide spread price declines have been surprised to see that it just hasn’t happened yet, and so they’ve decided to take advantage of the improved selection with lower lending rates”

New listings in Calgary also dropped by 18% to 3,122 units representing the fourth consecutive month of year-over-year declines. Calgary Real Estate Board noted June marked the second month of elevated absorption rates, which placed downward pressure on inventory levels. The overall months of supply continues to remain balanced at 2.3 months.

Overall, second-quarter results pointed toward more stability in the market. They year-over-year declines in sales activity eased 32% in the first quarter to 22% in the second quarter. Also, the number of new listings has pulled back compare to the beginning of the 2015.

Against this backdrop, the year-to-date average and median detached home price for Calgary declined about 2.26% and 1.54% city-wide.